Youth Empowerment Through Yoga and Mindfulness: Athens Launches Lotus Project for Refugee Children Athens, Greece – A new initiative aimed at empowering young refugees and migrants has taken root in the heart of Athens. The Lotus Project, a transformative program combining yoga, mindfulness, and creative expression, has begun its first implementation in collaboration with the Home Project, a shelter in the Psyrri neighborhood that provides care for unaccompanied migrant and refugee children. After several meetings associating the Lotus project designers and the facilitators from the Home Project, adjustments were made to tailor the Lotus methodology to meet the specific needs of young refugees. As a result, the Home Project introduced the program to its shelters, offering interested youth the opportunity to participate.

15 participants

Fifteen youngsters, ranging in age from 13 to 18, enrolled in the course, which took place at a local yoga studio in central Athens. The studio’s location, near the youngster’s shelters and easily accessible by public transport, allowed for seamless participation. Accompanying them was a youth worker from the shelter, who offered additional support, particularly for two of the participants who brought their infants. The youth worker stayed in a separate room with the babies, allowing the young mothers to fully engage with the training. The course, led by trainers Aggeliki Moutsiopoulou and Foteini Dimitriou, spanned one month, with workshops held twice a week, each lasting two and a half hours. The training introduced the youth to gentle yoga poses, followed by lessons on proper alignment, benefits, and contraindications of each posture. The sessions encouraged peer-to-peer teaching, as participants were asked to present the yoga poses to one another in pairs.

Yoga and poetry

The curriculum also integrated breathing techniques, mindfulness practices, and a creative component involving poetry. At the end of each session, participants listened to a poem and responded with their own writing, expressing their feelings through stories, poems, or free-form thoughts. In pairs, they could choose to share their reflections with a partner before coming back together as a group to discuss the experience. Throughout the program, feedback from the participants was overwhelmingly positive. Eight of the fifteen children successfully completed the course and received certificates recognizing their new skills. Many expressed that the workshops helped them feel more focused and relaxed. Some even said the experience gave them the strength to pursue their dreams and inspired them to return to school. The Lotus Project’s unique approach has already left a lasting impact on the youth involved, offering not just physical training, but also emotional and mental empowerment during a challenging time in their lives. Next step: the Paris workshop in July!